Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to solar energy production. More particularly, some example embodiments relate to a photovoltaic (“PV”) module suitable for operation under non-uniform illumination conditions.
Related Technology
There are two main types of solar collectors, including silicon and thin films, commonly used in PV panels, the solar collectors commonly composed of PV cells. Silicon is currently the predominant technology, and can generally be implemented as monocrystalline or polycrystalline cells encapsulated behind a transparent glass front plate. Thin film technology is not as wide-spread as the silicon technology due to its reduced efficiency, but it is gaining in popularity due to its lower cost.
Currently, the solar energy industry is looking for ways to decrease the cost per unit of energy generated by PV panels. One approach to reducing cost per unit energy is to increase the exposure of the PV panel to solar energy over time. For example, the orientation of the PV panel relative to the sun can be adjusted throughout the day and/or throughout the year. Changing the orientation of the PV panel relative to the sun throughout the day and/or year requires adjustable mounting systems that are costly and/or complicated with parts prone to failure over the lifetime of the PV panel.
Another approach to reducing the cost per unit energy of a PV panel is to reduce the solar collector density of the PV panel and concentrate solar energy incident on the PV panel on the remaining solar collectors. However, conventional PV panels are typically very sensitive to and perform poorly under non-uniform illumination conditions that can be associated with reflector systems.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced